Two regional councils have entered into an agreement to help find efficiencies and potentially share costs in waste management.
Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart and her Gympie counterpart Glen Hartwig signed a Memorandum of Understanding last week.
Cr Stewart said waste management was a costly exercise for all councils.
“It makes economic sense to avoid duplication where we can and look to find better environmental outcomes and efficiencies,” she said.
“I am a staunch supporter of collaborating with our neighbouring councils to share knowledge and share resources to find benefits for our ratepayers,” she said.
“This agreement provides a framework that can potentially enhance the resource recovery industry across the two councils and maximise environmental, social and economic benefits.”
Mayor Hartwig said the MoU was a tangible step in being more effective in the service delivery of waste management.
“There are massive synergies in waste for all councils and working together can help Gympie achieve better environmental outcomes and investigate ways to deal with different aspects of waste in a collaborative way,” he said.
Noosa Council CEO Larry Sengstock said the deal was about creating a dialogue between the two councils.
“This doesn’t tie either councils to any firm investments but rather solidifies an already strong relationship we have with Gympie council staff and their elected representatives,” he said.
Noosa Council is a member of the Council of Mayors South East Queensland, which has launched a management plan to tackle the war on waste.
“Seventy per cent of Queensland’s waste is processed through south-east Queensland, so we all have a shared ambition to find ways to improve recycling and identify resource-recovery opportunities,” Cr Stewart said.
Representatives from both councils will meet regularly to discuss infrastructure projects and identify ways to turn waste into a resource and divert away from landfill.
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